


Purification

by StarFeather



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: HPFT, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-05 19:10:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11584347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarFeather/pseuds/StarFeather
Summary: This story was written for "The Story Generator Challenge" by Raisha.Main Characters: Ron, HermioneSetting: Under a TreeSituation: Someone is badly injuredObject: The QuibblerAnd I edited this for "The Ghoulishly Halloween Challenge" by alicia and anne.A silvery otter jumped into the spot and spoke, “Ron, where are you? Haven’t you fetched the Healers yet?”





	1. Chapter 1

 

“Oi! Are you listening?” George’s loud voice brought Ron back to his senses.

“Huh?”

“Carry the yellow box downstairs. Protective dragon-skin gloves were sold out yesterday.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll do it.” Ron blinked and lifted the box from the floor and descended the stairs to the shop.

Showy neon lights lit up the section in the store. He was annoyed by garish pink and purple reflection that reflected on the display case. Putting it down, he tried to remember something and had a sudden urge to go outside of the shop. He had urgent business, but he couldn’t remember what it was or who he should’ve met. Was it an important customer for W.W.W? Why couldn’t he remember? He had to find out. The stress of it was getting to be unbearable.

“Hey, George!” He called his brother. He was sure that he had missed something very important. .

George strode briskly to Ron and asked, “What do you want?”

Ron lost it and stared at his brother. He nearly got the memory back, but everything turned blurry.

“I’ve already paid you this month. Do you want more? Hermione is having a baby. If you want extra, work hard.”

“I don’t mean money. I had to go to..” then he got confused again. He had to go to the person. But where should he go?

George raised his eyebrows and said, “If you’re worried about your wife, finish taking stock. Verity will be back soon after lunch. So we can manage in the afternoon without you.”

“Thanks,” Ron still felt weird.

 Hermione was in her fifth month and in very good health. Did he have to go back home earlier for her? He didn’t think so. Maybe she knew who he had to meet or.. why did he have to meet the man? The vague memory was coming back to him. The person he had to meet was male. The man needed him. He had to do something important for him. What did the man need? Then the modicum of memory went blurry again.

He left the joke shop and walked towards the Leakey Cauldron. Little kids were running towards him and one of them bumped into him in the street. They rushed into the Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. He trudged wearily up the slope to the familiar pub. When he swung the door open, Hannah Longbottom welcomed him.

“Hi, Ron. Will you have a drink before you go home?”

“Yeah. Do you have Muggle beer, IPA?”

“Yeah, a pint?”

“Yes, please.”

He had a friend who liked the malty beer. Why wasn’t he here? The pub was full of regular customers. Ron liked the clamorous atmosphere and inexpensive dishes. Hannah cleaned up the table next him and picked up the newspaper from the wooden chair. He admired her efficient movement.

“When are you going on your honeymoon?” Ron asked.

Hannah handed the newspaper to him, “Next week. Neville has to prepare for the new semester at Hogwarts. So I decided to work here for a while. You know, it’s lonely waiting for him for a week. I’ll be back soon with your IPA.” She smiled and retreated back to the bar counter.

She giggled at a bar man and answered to his banter. The beauty of a newly married woman radiated from her gestures, just like his sister, Ginny. Then Ron was unable to think clearly once again. Who was she wedded to? When he tried to think of the man, the haze started hanging over his brain. He flipped the pages of the newspaper, “Quibbler”, frantically as if the act would give him the answer. Then he found it. The article told him that they were going to have a second baby. He jumped up. He had to rescue him. But where?

Then a silvery otter jumped into the spot and spoke, “Ron, where are you? Neville and Harry were cursed. Haven’t you fetched the Healers yet?”

Hannah dropped the pint of beer on the floor. The malty flavor of liquor was reeked in the air.

Ron shouted, “Hannah, please call the Aurors to the Forbidden Forest. I've got to go to St.Mungo’s. Oh, wait! And call Unspeakables, too!” 

 

* * *

 

The masked wizard gloated over the two’s catastrophe. He had succeeded in casting new Dark Magic he invented. His long-cherished study of Dark Arts was finally rewarded. He resurrected a deep-seated grudge of the ghost and her followers. Since he took over the post of Caretaker after Filch retired, he had taken advantage of the job. He found out the psychic spot where the spirits of the dead Death Eaters gathered round. He could trespass the restricted section in the library using his official authority. Every midnight he searched the book to perform Dark Magic. After a few months passed, he finally found the old Druidc book. The book showed him how to call back the evil spirits. What he needed was strong emotion, his anger against the hero of the battle of Hogwarts. It was too risky to perform the magic inside of the castle. Professors would prevent him from accomplishing the act. He got a chance to do when he heard Harry Potter would visit Hogwarts with his friend to demonstrate in DADA class. He lured them out of the castle to the forest with a threatening owl.  
It was unexpected that Ronald Wealsey wasn’t cursed by the ghosts. He managed to cast Confundus Charm on the Blood-Traitor. He couldn’t see the ghosts but he could sense them around the old oak tree. He was hiding in the bushes and waited for the outcome. Without doing dirty work by himself, the ghosts would do job even if they called Aurors, though he couldn’t predict how Unspeakables would be able to disperse the ghosts. If they could save them, he would think of the next step after he got information of their solution.

 

Under a tree, Harry Potter had been endured the pains. The piercing pain was just like he was stabbed by invisible knives deep in his internal organs. Something was wrong. He couldn’t move at all. Invisible ropes were binding him tight. His limbs were paralyzed. He felt like he had light concussion, he couldn’t function at all. The sky was spinning above him. His body swayed and fell down on the ground. An obnoxious laugh echoed through the trees,

“Baby Potter died in the end! We won! We won!”

Listening to the mad crackle, he lay on the cold forest floor. His stomach churned and he felt nauseated. He heard Neville’s groan near him and tried to crawl towards him but he felt all his body was becoming rigid.

He breathed heavily and barely uttered, “Neville, are you alright?”

Neville desperately squeezed the words out, “Harry, conjure your Patronus to Hermione!”

Gritting his teeth, Harry imagined Ginny, his first son and his unborn child. He muttered the spell. The silvery Stag came out from the tip of his holly wand and galloped off. Then two Gryffindors passed out. 

 

* * *

Hermione Weasley was knitting a blanket for her baby who would be born in just four months or so. She was humming a lullaby which she’d heard from her grandmother. Then a familiar Patronus jumped into the drawing room.

The silvery Stag began speaking in Harry’s weak voice, “Neville and I are trapped in the Forbidden Forest. Call Ron. He was confounded by the remaining Death Eater.” Then it vanished.

Hermione became anxious. What he told wasn’t enough to grasp the situation of the two friends. She pulled her vine wand and conjured her Patronus to send an urgent message to Hogwarts professors. The silvery otter trotted away. She had to hurry. She shoved the undone blanket into the basket and took a step closer to the hearth. She sent her second message to her husband and grabbed Floo Powder and shouted, “St. Mungo’s !”

She spotted Ron who was talking with the receptionist at the entrance hall. As she expected, he seemed to be confused and didn’t know what he was going to do.

The irritated witch repeated the same question, “Sir, I know who you are, so please tell me who you are going to see.”

“I told you. I’m Ronald Weasley,  Auror. I came here to see the important person. This is urgent! I need to help him.”

“I recognize your certificate and I could let you pass. But tell me, who do you want to see?” the receptionist was now shouting.

Ron’s face got perplexed. He looked utterly helpless.

“Ron!” Hermione walked at a quick pace but carefully not to give impact into her baby inside of her belly. When she reached the desk, she asked him, “What happened to Harry?”  
Her eyes bored into his blue eyes.

His unfocused orbs stared back at hers and he gasped and said, “Yes, Harry! He got injured. And Neville was hit the Curse.”

“Who was the caster?”

“I don’t know. I felt a chill in the Forbidden Forest. Something evil spirits gathered around there. I sensed them, her….” Ron stopped speaking and his eyes couldn’t focus on her face.

“Ron!” she snapped her fingers in front of him.

He regained his conscious again. “Oh, yeah. I came here to fetch the Healers.”

Hermione called for the rescue team via the desk and said to Ron,  
“You’d better see a Healer. Come with me, this way.” She showed her wand to the receptionist and led him away to the hospital wing.

When they arrived at the fourth floor, a Healer, Augustus Pye was waiting for them.

“Mr.Weasley, what happened to you? I heard Harry Potter was involved in some troubles. We’ve already sent the rescue team to the Forbidden Forest.” Augustus pulled out his wand and cast diagnostic spell over Ron.

The young Healer muttered, “I sensed the Confundus Charm. Stand still, Mr. Weasley.”

Healer Pye put his hand on Ron’s forehead and chanted complicated long spells and asked, “Mr. Weasley, do you remember what had happened to you?”

Ron blinked several times and said, “Yes, I do. Bloody hell, I have to go back to the Forbidden Forest.” He turned around and was going to dash to the lift.

“Wait, Mr.Weasley. I didn’t finish treatment!” Pye spoke to him from behind.

Then the other Healers carried two patients in a flurry. Ron seemed to notice who they were and walked back along close to rescue beds. Hermione gasped at the injured friend. Harry had a bandage around his stomach and it was bloodstained. His face was deathly pale. She got anxious and tried to get closer to him. But one of the Healers shouted,

“Don’t come closer to the patient. The Curse hasn’t been taken away yet.”

Hermione got confused and stared at Ron. He nodded lightly and mouthed, “He’ll be alright.”

When they watched over Neville was sent to ICU after Harry, Healer Pye spoke to Ron,

“Mr. Weasley, I sensed the evil spirit hovering around you. I think Mrs. Weasley had better wait in the fifth floor, tea room.”

“No, I won’t leave here. I’ll stay. I know the way to disperse the evil spirit. Ron has the lucky charm. I have it, too.” She pulled out a tiny wreath of an oak branch.

Healer Pye asked her with great interest, “Please show it to me.” He took it and examined it. He smelled it, too. He said, “Interesting. You compounded garlic, did you?”

“Yes, I did. I should have given it to Harry as well. If he had had this, he wouldn’t have been cursed.”  
Hermione smiled at Ron weakly.

Ron got anxious and asked her, “Do you mean this charm protected me from the ghost of Bellatrix?”

“I think so. Garlic always dispels the bad spirits. The sacred tree, oak does as well.”

Then the silvery fox jumped in and it began speaking in Seamus Finnegan’s voice,  
“We captured the culprit. We are going to let him drink Veritaserum now.”

 

* * *

In the ICU, Harry and Neville were getting care by Healers. Being half conscious, Harry could listen to the conversation of Healers.

“I can’t believe how he survived these tremendous numbers of dead branches in his stomach.” One of Healers spoke.

“Did the ghosts do this, Morag?”

“I think so. Oh, Nicolas, watch out! You forget pulling the tiny branch there.”

Healer Nicolas got silent and seemed to focus on removing the branch. Morag spoke,  
“We used all salt inside the hospital to pile up this. The wood of these beds are made from sacred oak trees.”

A big pile of salt was set near Harry’s bed. Harry felt thankful that he didn’t feel the pain at all. Perhaps he must have been smelled anesthetic potion before the operation had started. Then he fell into sleep again. The dream visited him gently. He felt happy in the dream.

He felt tiny soft hand touch on the cheek. The familiar voice whispered to him,

“Harry, we’re all here for you. Healers told us you’ll be better in a week.” It was Ginny.

Harry smiled and fell asleep, again.

 

* * *

 

**A/N: Thank you for stopping by. Any feedback is welcome. Please leave review. Many thanks to my beta, Stefi and a nice suggestion from Kayla.**


	2. Prove Your Guts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time went by since Harry and Neville were attacked by the ghosts in the forbidden forest …

**Prove Your Guts**

**Time went by since Harry and Neville were attacked by the ghosts in the forbidden forest …**

Scorpius Malfoy was restless. He had become disgusted with the fame of the Potters and Weasleys since he had entered Hogwarts. He got tired of Gryffindor's pride and bravery. What did Slytherin exist for? To be enemies against Gryffindors? He had pride, too. Next year he would become third year. It was about time to show them a Malfoy's pride.

 

When he felt this way, he often went to the library. It was moment of bliss. Nobody threw him scornful looks here because his father and his grandfather were Death Eaters. After his grandfather lost the status in the Ministry, his father, Draco Malfoy, had been struggling to reinstate the family name. Recently Draco had become obsessed with taking the lead in the Potions Study in Britain. His efforts rewarded, Professor Malfoy had become famous in Asian pharmacology. Naturally, Scorpius had got interested in the Asia section of the library and enjoyed flicking through the various books. That day, he happened to find one that looked interesting near the Restricted Section. He took the book, _Folklore in East Asia_ , went to his favorite spot where a small desk and two wooden chairs were set behind the rows of books. When he was reading, one topic about folk play, Prove Your Guts caught his eyes.

 

_Prove Your Guts Kimodameshi (Japan) : Kimodameshi is a game children play during summer. They go to somewhere potentially frightening like a graveyard, a deserted shrine or a dark forest at night and prove themselves to be brave._

He got an idea. He picked up his quill, and started scribbling something on a sheet of parchment.

 

* * *

 

 

Albus Potter stared at the mail Hedwig II had brought him. When the owl hooted twice, he absent-mindedly gave her owl nuts. His cousin Rose peeped into it and said,

 

"What does he say?"

 

"He wants to play a game with us."

 

"What game?"

 

"Prove Your Guts. The challenger has to visit the Deathday Party on October 31 at Slytherin House alone. We compete by who stays the longest."

 

"The Deathday Party at Slytherin House?" She shuddered.

 

He had never seen her like this and it worried him. "Do you know what it's like?"

 

"I've heard deep-seated grudges gather in one spot in the dungeon. They are considered the vengeful spirit of the dead Death Eaters who were defeated during the battle of Hogwarts."

 

"What?" Albus got pale.

 

How on earth could he challenge this? It was his father who defeated the leader of the Death Eaters. He stared at the letter, being completely at a loss how to reply. If he refused to participate in this, Malfoy would tell everybody that he was a coward. If his brother James got this letter, he would definitely accept this challenge. He didn't want to be inferior to James. He knitted his brows, made up his mind and started writing a response.

 

Rose checked his reply. "I have an idea. I'll write a letter to my mum. We can't get through this without her advice," she said, handing the letter back to him.

 

Three days later, Albus and Rose walked down the labyrinthine passages after dinner.

Rose held the beaded bag she borrowed from her mother tightly in her hand. Their own long shadows lit by torches followed them faithfully along the old stone floor. Albus bit his lips. Frowning, he raised his wand to his waist position preparing for the sudden attack by the dead Death Eaters.

 

"You look troubled, young Potter and Weasley," Nearly Headless Nick said to them, hovering in the air.

 

"Oh, yes we are. Will you go to the Deathday Party, too?" Rose asked.

 

Nick wavered his elegant hand, "The Fat Friar told me not to join them."

 

"Why?" Albus felt uneasy to hear that.

 

"They'll have a meeting at the party. Talk about searching for the Grey Lady. They have a plan to trap her into the captive wall." Nick heaved a sigh, his cold breath made the two Gryffindors shiver.

 

"I think the Bloody Baron won't let them do. But who are they?" Rose asked.

 

"They're .." Nick's answer was drowned by a noise from the place over the corner.

 

Four Slytherins including Scorpius walked up to them, one of them a curly dark-haired boy strumming a flat mandolin. The others were big fat boy and a handsome black boy. Nearly Headless Nick, waving his hand towards Albus and Rose, disappeared.

 

Scorpius Malfoy stood in front of them, crossing his arms across his chest, smirked, "Potter, welcome to our pit. Do you understand the rule of the game?"

 

"Yes, I do. The participant is allowed to have a wand and an object to cheer them up."

 

Malfoy spoke. "That's right. You have to visit there alone. Duke, you're the first. "

 

Then Duke, the curly dark-haired Slytherin with a flat mandolin, descended the stairs and vanished into the darkness. Malfoy rolled up his sleeves, checking the time. The other Slytherin boys were talking whispers, often glancing at Rose. Albus felt like he had to protect her from these cunning Slytherins, so grabbed his wand.

 

One of them, the black spoke, "Weasley, what's that, the bag?"

 

Rose put her arm through the strap of the beaded bag, "I'm allowed to have this according to the rule."

 

"What are in the bag? Isn't that a magical artifact?" the black kept questioning her.

 

"Zabini, it's rude to question a lady," Malfoy said coolly.

 

"If you doubt, I'll show you inside." Rose said and tried to open the bag.

 

"Don't. We're gentlemen. Real Pure-Bloods respect ladies." Malfoy adamantly refused.

Albus was startled, stared at Malfoy and looked at Rose.

 

She looked nervous and said, "Excuse me. I need to go to .. the bathroom. I'll come back soon." She left.

 

Zabini and the other Slytherin smirked gazing after her. Then Duke appeared from downstairs, racing towards them in a sprint. He looked pale, holding flat mandolin with his left hand.

 

Malfoy checked his expensive wristwatch and said, "Six minutes and fifty-five seconds. Goyle, take note."

 

But Goyle ignored Malfoy, and instead asked Duke, "What was it like?"

 

Duke said, trembling, "It's freezing down there. I hate the music. While I played the mandolin, I heard a thousand fingernails scraping on the blackboard. They asked me to play tunes, so I played for them, but I barely played one tune. My hand went numb. When I finished it, I ran back here. Now it's your turn, Malfoy."

 

"Goyle, record his time. Potter, tell Weasley she'll be the next after I come back. Duke, give me your mandolin."

 

When Malfoy vanished downstairs, Albus said, "Goyle, I need to go to the loo." Then he left.

 

As soon as he was out of sight he ran down the corridor, and quickly turned the corner. Skidding to a halt, he saw Rose coming back.

 

"Where have you been?"Albus asked her.

 

"I asked Sir Cadogan to take him to the place where the Deathday Party is held."

 

"Who did Sir Cadogan take?"

 

"I'll tell you later. Did you bring your father's Cloak with you?"

 

"Yeah." Albus threw his father's Invisibility Cloak over them both. "Let's follow Malfoy."

 

They passed by Goyle, Duke and Zabini on their way there. When they reached to the bottom, they shivered beneath the Cloak, feeling cold.

 

"Where's Sir Nicholas?" Albus asked Rose.

 

They couldn't find Nick. The Fat Friar approached them and said, "Is someone here? If you're there, help the Malfoy boy. He's trapped by Dark Lord's first servant." He glided away.

 

They found Malfoy was under an icy-blue spotlight. He was with a female ghost with heavy lidded eyes. She spoke in her very high pitched voice,

 

"Your grandfather was coward. Don't lose your nerve. Bring Grey Lady to us! She let out My Lord's secret to Potter!"

 

Malfoy looked frightened and very pale. Rose whispered to Albus beneath the Cloak,

"She must be Bellatrix Lestrange. I'm so scared. Our grandma killed her to protect your mother. "

 

Albus stepped out of beneath the Invisibility Cloak, leaving Rose still hidden beneath. He climbed to the podium and approached them. The temperature dropped. His teeth started chattering.

 

Malfoy noticed him and said, "Why are you here? It's not your turn."

 

Duke's mandolin was on the podium. Other ghosts of dead Death Eaters were surrounding them.

 

Albus tried being calm and said, "You're late. So we came here to rescue you." Then he regretted slipping the word, "we".

 

"You couldn't come here alone, Potter." Malfoy sneered.

 

The ghost Bellatrix reacted strongly to what Malfoy said, "Potter? AH, you're Potter's son!" She gave him a grim smile and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

 

Then she went through Albus. He felt very cold and shuddered, feeling sick. He fell back down on the cold stone floor, hearing Rose's shout, "Albus, NOOO!"

 

 

How many minutes passed? When Albus opened his eyes, he saw his father's face and his aunt's.

 

"How do you feel, son?"

 

"Dad? How could you come here?" Albus felt the coldness of the stone floor beneath his back.

 

"Harry, you have to take him to the hospital wing. It's freezing here." said aunt Hermione.

 

"No, I don't want to go there. The game isn't over," Albus protested, sitting up.

 

"I don't want to leave, either, mum. As you dispelled her, we can stay here. The game's still going," Rose said, although her face was pale, too.

 

"Dispelled her? How did you come here?" Albus asked his father.

 

"Fred in the portrait took us to here from uncle George's joke shop. Rose set his portrait up there." Harry pointed at the small portrait on the dark wall near him.

 

Uncle Fred of the portrait winked at him. "It's wicked, isn't it? I enjoyed being carried in the beaded bag by my niece. It was fun. Do it again."

 

Albus looked around. Scorpius Malfoy, whose face was pale, was staring at him. To his surprise, he looked anxious.

 

His father spoke. "Alright, you set the game on the other day. Now all of you should go to the hospital wing. It's really cold here."

 

Harry's words were like a cue. Everyone left.

 

On their way to the hospital wing, Albus asked, "How did you dispel her?"

 

"Sir Nicholas and the Bloody Baron helped us. They didn't want to hand the Grey Lady to the dead Death Eaters. We could dispel them, too. Aunt Hermione is a professional in that field."

 

Albus glanced back at Malfoy. He looked as white as a sheet. They needed something hot to drink. He missed his mother's cocoa.

 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Albus woke up in the middle of the night. He was thirsty and tried to reach a pitcher on the side small table by his bed. But a glass next to it tumbled down, which made Scorpius stir next to him.

‘Potter, Madam Pomfrey won’t like a reckless disturbance this time,’ he said sleepily. Pulling his blanket back over himself, he went back to sleep.

 

‘Sorry,’ Albus whispered back and sat up. He couldn’t go back to sleep any more. He was completely awake. He couldn’t forget the memory that the ghost, Bellatrix had pierced through his body, and he shuddered again. He felt like he might faint. The memory of the spell was like ice and he started to feel a little unsteady. He wondered what a real _Avada Kedavra_ was like. Without Rose’s quick wit, they may not have survived Bellatrix’s death curse.

 

He wanted to talk to his father about the unusual experience, so he got out the Invisibility Cloak and pulled it over himself. He went out of the hospital wing and turned the corner, heading for the owlery. He wanted to owl his father as soon as possible. Hedwig II was in Gryffindor boy’s dorm and it was not wise to fetch her at midnight, so the owlery was his next best option.

 

He noticed the shadow of his legs across the hallway under the torchlight and hastily tugged his Cloak around his body so as not to drop any more shadows. He couldn’t afford to be discovered wandering around the corridors at that time of night. Just then he heard voices behind him. He hastily dove into the spot between two armored knight statues and waited.

 

Soon he saw two adults passing by. One was Professor Hooch, the Headmistress, and the other … he felt relieved. The other was his father. Albus had thought his father had already finished investigating and left, but he still seemed to have been checking the spot where the ghosts attacked Albus and Scorpius.

 

‘Professor Hooch, I think Hermione purified the spots perfectly. No more ghosts from tomorrow night,’ he assured Headmistress Hooch.

 

‘Good to hear, Mr. Potter. I’m very sorry that your son was cursed by the Lestrange ghost. Madam Pomfrey examined him and told me there are not any traces of Dark Magic.’

 

‘Thank you, Professor. If you find any … Albus?’ Harry was surprised when his son appeared out of darkness. Albus, whose green eyes looked just like his, fixed his gaze at him.

 

‘Dad, I have something to ask you.’ Albus waited for Harry’s words nervously. He looked frightened by something.

 

Feeling uneasy, Harry asked him, ‘What is it? Do you still feel her near you?’ He grabbed his wand tight, ready to protect his son in case of sudden assault.

 

‘No. I’m just wondering what Killing Curse is like. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?’

 

Harry blinked. Shadows of the leaves were trembling ominously against the windows over his son’s shoulders. He hesitated over telling his experiences, the fact that he had been hit by the curse twice. Albus had heard about his reputation around ‘The Boy Who Lived’, and knew Harry was hit by Killing Curse when he was a baby. But he had not told Albus about the second experience in the Forbidden Forest yet. He had only told Ginny, Hermione and Ron about it.

 

Hooch told them to go to her office. She asked Albus, ‘Are you alright now? If you still feel sick, you have to go back to the Hospital Wing.’ Her piercing eyes observed him.

 

Looking back straight to her, Albus answered, ‘I’m alright, Professor.’ He was sure that the physical condition was not bad. The problem was the state of his mind.  

 

It was first time he had been to Hooch’s office. He was amazed by the portraits of successive professors on the wall. Most of them were sleeping, but two professors observed new comers. He guessed the one was Albus Dumbledore and the other might be Severus Snape. Dumbledore of the portrait cast amused look on him but Snape was assuming an air of total apathy to Albus. Severus Snape apparently had concern about his father.

 

Snape of the portrait sneered at Harry and said, ‘This time, you have to face the problem alone. Nobody will help you, Potter.’

 

Albus thought how rude Snape was being to his father, and watched his father clench his fist next to him. He felt ashamed that his middle name had been taken from the arrogant man in front of him.

 

Harry spoke. ‘My son Albus was attacked by the ghost of Bellatrix Lestrange in the dungeon.’

 

Snape’s sarcastic expression softened and he uttered, ‘Didn’t she overcome her maniac passions? Stupid woman.’

 

Dumbledore’s face got severe. ‘It is pity that Lord Voldemort’s servant can’t find peace after life. She learned here once while she was a student, now she turned into a monster who has a vessel nobody can ever fill.’ He turned his gaze to Professor Hooch. ‘Madam, I heard Hermione Granger mastered dispelling evil souls. Has the problem not been solved yet?’

 

Hooch stood up from her chintz sofa and answered briskly, ‘I think so, but this boy was cursed by her, Bellatrix. According to Rose Weasley, the ghost, Bellatrix cast Avada Kedavra on Albus Potter.’

 

Now all professors of the portrait were awaking and listened to their conversation. Phineas Nigellus spoke, ‘I don’t think her curse had power to kill anyone. But I’m afraid you’d better care this boy, Potter’s second son. His darkness will allure the evil spirits again.’ His astute eyes observed Albus who looked extremely nervous after he heard Nigellus’s words.

 

Harry asked him, ‘I think Scorpius has darkness, but my son, no. Why do you think Albus has darkness?’

 

Nigellus stroked his beard, ‘You forget how scared you were when you faced the Death Eaters. Teenagers are more fragile than we imagine. Scorpius is more brave than coward.’

 

Albus was hurt by Nigellus’s words. He didn’t want to admit Scorpius was braver than him. Fuming, he said, ‘I’m alright. It’s too late. Thank you for looking after me. Goodnight everyone.’ He stormed out of the office.

 

Harry hurried to follow his son. ‘Wait, Albus!’

 

* * *

 

 

**A/N : I can't say thank you enough to melian for doing beta on this.**

 


End file.
